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What is the advised way to tour the parks, especially DL, for first timers that have 5 days to try everything? We'd like to be efficient but not at the expense at enjoying the park the way it should be.

I know WDW level of planning is not required but I am a planner by nature and thus am usually happier having some sort of plan, even if it's a general one. We will rope drop most if not all days and will be getting MaxPass. We are doing DL first on Wednesday and then DCA on Thursday.

Here are the options I have thought about for DL:

A) A DL version of my usual WDW route - Basically start in Adventureland and work clockwise

B) The reverse of A, start in Tomorrowland and work counterclockwise

C) Fantasyland first by going through the castle

D) Fantasyland first by going around the castle to the Matterhorn

E) Meet Mr. Lincoln first and then progress through the park however we feel

F) Have no plan and just wing it

I haven't really contemplated our DCA options. Probably will try to get to Radiator Springs first.

With MaxPass, you can grab FPs on your phone as soon you enter the park. Indiana Jones and Space Mountain run out of FPs first, so prioritize them. A good plan is to get an Indy FP, and hit Space Mountain, Star Tours and Nemo at opening. Once those are out of the way, you can head to Adventureland for Indy, and progress to the west side E tickets from there.

Fantasyland is a good thing to rope drop *provided* there is no EMH. If there's EMH, Fantasyland will be a mess by the time you can get in (unless you rope drop the EMH!). Since Peter Pan and Alice maintain long waits all day and don't offer FP, they're good rope drop bets.

Pay attention in the app to when your next FP will be available so that you can take advantage of that right away.

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DO NOT do Lincoln first. I've never seen it busy. Do it in the afternoon along with the Tiki Room, Tom Sawyer Island, the Riverboats, etc.

Five days is plenty of time to see everything. You shouldn't have any problems fitting everything in.

Fantasyland is always a great place to start. You can pretty easily hit all the dark rides with little to no wait and minimal walking. In particular, if you want to experience Peter Pan with no/minimal wait you pretty much have to get there before rope drop and do it the second the park opens. I like to start with PP, then go to Alice, then Mr. Toad. From there you could do Snow White & Pinocchio, but they are less popular than the others. Probably a better choice would be Storybook Land, as that is a must-do with a very slow-moving line. I wouldn't say Casey Jr. is mandatory, but I think it complements the boats well and you're better off getting there with a shorter line so that you can sit on the benches, so you don't have to cram into the animal cages. Matterhorn isn't the early morning priority it used to be now that it has FastPass. It also tends to start with only one side and then bring on side # 2 30 min. later or so.

Toontown will open an hour after the rest of the park. That's always a good time to see Roger Rabbit with minimal wait and ensure that you get to see the queue, which you should see at least once.

For a second day, you might consider starting with the Nemo subs. It's slow loading and a long attraction, so it's a bit of a time commitment under the best of circumstances. I don't consider it to be super impressive, but if it's something you'd like to experience I'd head there first one morning. It would also be a good time to hit Autopia (if desired), and grab a FP for Space or Star Tours. Star Tours is identical but the lines are longer in DL because it has fewer simulators than WDW.

The west side of the park takes time to build up a crowd. Definitely begin with Indiana Jones if you're starting over there. Afterwards I would probably head to Splash, followed by Mansion and Pirates. But really the first two hours the park is open the west side is a relative ghost town and you'll practically have it to yourself.

This may have changed from last year, but last summer the FP machines for Mansion and Big Thunder were frequently giving out instant FPs that allowed you to ride immediately. Take advantage of them if that is still the case.

Well-Known Member

Got back earlier this week. We had a blast. Rode everything in both parks in 5 days, saw the parades, fireworks, and the big theater shows. Watched Paint the Night twice and Fantasmic! three times. Aside from World of Color being broken, the only other disappointment was not understanding how the Animation Academy worked. When we had time to go in, the were going to be drawing characters I had zero interest in so we didn't do it. DL will never be my "home park" and I will never had the nostalgia for it others do since I didn't visit it as a child but I will certainly look back fondly on my trip.

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New Member

First time visitor next summer and planning our arrival day. I'm assuming both the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian are a quick, easy walk from Downtown Disney. Would I be right? Also, is there any way to ride the monorail without a ticket to the parks?

Well-Known Member

First time visitor next summer and planning our arrival day. I'm assuming both the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian are a quick, easy walk from Downtown Disney. Would I be right? Also, is there any way to ride the monorail without a ticket to the parks?

Well-Known Member

First time visitor next summer and planning our arrival day. I'm assuming both the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian are a quick, easy walk from Downtown Disney. Would I be right? Also, is there any way to ride the monorail without a ticket to the parks?

New Member

Well, the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay on Haunted Mansion is almost more Christmassy than it is Halloweeny... But I've found that sometimes in the week after Halloween, some of the Halloween decorations are still up as they're putting up Christmas decorations.